London 2012 - Day 5 guide

Bar work: Beth Tweddle is among a British squad tipped to do well at their home Olympics
5 April 2012

Tickets for the Games go on sale on March 15. Matt Majendie guides you through the 16 days of competition and 26 sports that will make up the greatest show on earth. Today the spotlight is on gymnastics and canoeing...

Wednesday, August 1

Gymnastics

Where to watch it: artistic/trampoline (North Greenwich Arena); rhythmic (Wembley Arena).
When to watch it: artistic (July 29-August 2 & August 5-7); rhythmic (August 9-12); trampoline (August 3-4).
How the scoring works: artistic - there are two judging panels, one for execution and one for difficulty. Execution is scored out of 10 with points deducted for mistakes, while each routine starts with a difficulty value. Rhythmic - there are three panels of judges between them measuring difficulty, execution and artistry. There are 20 points available for difficulty and 10 apiece for execution and artistry. Trampoline - five judges award marks out of 10 for execution with the lowest and highest scores removed, and an average of the other scores taken; two judges award a possible 10 for difficulty.
The star of the sport: in the men's artistic, two‑time all-around world champion Kohei Uchimura, of Japan, will be aiming to go one better than Beijing, where he had to settle for silver. The women's star is Russia's Aliya Mustafina, herself the all‑around world champion who believes she will hit her peak in 2012.
Do the Brits have a medal chance? Britain boast arguably their strongest ever Olympic line-up. Louis Smith, who won bronze in Beijing, will be among the favourites on the pommel horse while Beth Tweddle will target a medal on the uneven bars and floor. Daniel Keatings is the best bet for the team in the all-around.
Did you know? Smith is a former X-Factor contestant but failed to get past the audition stage.
Ticket prices: £20 to £450

Canoeing

Where to watch it: slalom (Lee Valley White Water Centre, Herts); sprint (Eton Dorney, Bucks).
When to watch it: slalom (July 29-August 2); sprint (August 6-11).
How the event works: slalom competitors have to clear 25 gates along a white water course. Touching a gate means a two-second penalty while missing a gate adds 50 seconds. In the sprint it's a straightforward dash for the line.
The star of the sport: Slovakian Michal Martikan competed at his first Games in the C1 class in 1996 and has won two golds and two silvers since then.
Do the Brits have a medal chance? David Florence is in with a shout having won silver in 2008 in the C1 slalom while all eyes will be on Beijing gold medallist Dr Tim Brabants in the sprint.
Did you know? Florence used to live on the same street as cyclist Sir Chris Hoy in Edinburgh when growing up.
Ticket prices: £20 to £150

What else to watch on day 5

Archery (Lord's), badminton (Wembley Arena), basketball (Olympic Park), beach volleyball (Horse Guards Parade), diving (Olympic Park), fencing (ExCel), football (Wembley, St James' Park, Old Trafford, Millennium Stadium, Hampden, Ricoh Arena), handball (Olympic Park), hockey (Olympic Park), judo (ExCel), road cycling (Hampton Court), rowing (Eton Dorney), sailing (Weymouth and Portland), shooting (Royal Artillery Barracks), swimming (Olympic Park), table tennis (ExCel), tennis (Wimbledon), volleyball (Earls Court), water polo (Olympic Park), weightlifting (ExCel)

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